Revenge
by midsummernight94
Summary: <html><head></head>Elva finds a chance to get revenge against the people who caused her suffering. And she plans to use it. Rated T.</html>
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: Elva finds her chance for her revenge against the people who have caused her suffering. And she plans to use it.**

**Rated T for violence. I own nothing.**

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><p>Elva was a sick, twisted little girl. But was that really <em>her<em> fault? Was it _her_ fault that some idiot had tried to bless her and had ended up cursing her instead? Was it _her_ fault that the "blessing" had made her a shield to be used against others' misfortune and pain; _her_ fault that a certain leader of the Varden had used her as a body guard and a weapon against her enemies? No.

If you asked Elva who was to blame for these things she would happily have told you. If you were to ask her what she planned to do about the curse and the suffering brought upon by it, she would have smiled sweetly and said "You'll see." But no one ever cared enough to ask, so they couldn't see how sick and twisted she really was.

That was what pissed her off the most; nobody _cared_ about what she thought about all this. They just forced her to do whatever they wanted her to. Well, no longer! She started making a mental list of all who had wronged her. She had something special planned for each of them. Elva had everything she needed-except for the opportunity. But, she thought to herself, that would come soon enough.

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><p><strong>Please review!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Dear God this chapter took forever! I won't tell you why it took so long, simply because, well, you really don't care. Let's just say that trying to find Elva's first victim was an awful, long process(which isn't a total lie). **

**Unfortuatly I still don't own anything.**

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><p>She had finally found her opportunity. The Varden was halting its war march to negotiate with Feinster for supplies and soldiers, and it was going to take three or four weeks, if her calculations were correct. Elva hummed happily to herself; for a moment she looked like a regular little girl that had just received the only gift she had ever asked for.<p>

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><p>Solembum would be the first to go. Well, either Solembum or Greta. Elva was having a bit of trouble deciding which one to go after. On one hand, she was sure Solembum was spying on her for Angela. On the other, Greta had been a pain since Elva had received her powers. Deciding that Solembum was more of a threat to her overall plans, Elva stood and walked from her tent to Angela's.<p>

Solembum was curled up in the middle of Angela's favorite rug, licking his forepaw with an unprecedented amount of concentration. He looked up as Elva entered the tent and stared at her until she started shift from foot to foot nervously.

'_What's on your mind Witch-Child?_' Elva tried to contain a growl as the were-cat spoke. That name was another thing that never ceased to annoy her; she had a real name, why couldn't these people use it? That one little transgression got rid of any qualms she might have had about this insane plan of hers.

"I found something odd in the forest, and I was hoping you'd come see it with me." She said it as sweetly as she could, careful not to scare him. Solembum sighed and continued licking his paw. '_Sorry,_' he said. '_I'll have to skip this one._' Irritation flared up in Elva at her victim's unwillingness to cooperate.

"Nonsense," she said cheerfully, picking him up off the rug. "This will be fun." At least, for her it would be.

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><p>A scream broke through the silence that had prevailed in the Varden camp for the past two days, jerking Eragon awake and causing him to reach for Brisinger. He walked out of the tent to see King Orrin, Nasuada, their collection of guards, Angela, and Arya running towards the source of the screaming. He raced after them as another scream tore through the air, hardly bothering to check that Saphira was following him.<p>

He skidded to a halt near the edge of the forest, were a small child sat huddled near a slightly larger, shadowy figure. After a few seconds he recognized the child as Elva. The others arrived after him soon after him; the ground shook violently as Saphira landed. They seemed just as surprised as he had been to find Elva on the ground sobbing.

None of them spoke for a few minutes, not wanting to scare the girl. Finally Angela spoke. "Oh my gods." She walked forward slowly and knelt on the ground next to Elva. Eragon followed her and gagged.

The shadowy figure was Solembum. The were-cat was in human form, and covered in blood. A portion of his throat had been ripped out, revealing raw muscle from which blood still pored. His cat like eyes were wide with terror and his face contorted with a silent scream. No one moved. The only action that had followed was King Orrin pulling Angela onto her feet and away from the body of her dead companion.

"_What caused this Witch-child?_" Shaphira asked, breaking the horrifying spell that held them all. The small girl finally looked up at them. Her eyes were red from crying, and tears still streamed down her face.

"I-I don't know," she whispered. She shivered violently and continued, "I was in my tent with Greta when I felt someone's fear coming from here. I followed it and-and" She broke down sobbing again, which finally caused them to react properly. Nasuada cleared her throat and said, "Angela, take Elva home, she shouldn't have to see any more of this. Eragon, I need you to cast a ward to stop any one from leaving the area. We're going to conduct a full search to catch this murderer, and no one leaves till we do. Angela, come back once you've taken care of Elva, we'll need you to help with the search." Angela nodded and did as she was ordered.

Eragon knelt besides Elva and put a hand on her shoulder. "We'll find who did this," he promised her. She looked at him with serious eyes. Her tears had stopped, their only remnants being her red eyes.

"Don't worry," she said in a dark tone of voice. "I know you'll discover who did this."_ But by then it will be too late._

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><p><strong>Please, please review! If you do you'll have my undying and eternal gratitude.<strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**Alright onto chapter three. Warning- this chapter is pretty violent so... don't say I didn't warn you. **

**I still don't own anything.**

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><p>Angela left as soon after she deposited Elva with Greta, not bothering to make sure Elva was okay. Not that she needed to. Greta fussed over her endlessly. Was she alright? Did she need anything? The questions went on and on. But Elva was patient. She waited until Greta was asleep (it didn't take long) before sneaking up behind her and entering her mind.<p>

Her care taker's mind was simple, if a bit boring. It was feeble from old age and filled with empty spaces, where her memory had been lost. But Elva didn't care about her memories; what she was after was Greta's _fears_, the dark thoughts that woke her up at night screaming.

She was rather unimpressed with what she found. Greta's greatest fear was possibly the most horrible cliché known to man, spiders. Not impressive at all, but it still had its possibilities.

Armed with this new knowledge, Elva broke into the old woman's dream. The dream was bright and sunny. Greta looked impossibly young, and she sat with her husband, who had died six years ago. The couple was laughing and eating from a picnic basket, completely oblivious the cruel little girl standing a few yards away from them.

She studied them for a moment or two and waved her hand dismissively. Greta's husband disappeared without a trace, as if he'd never been there at all. The sky darkened as Greta leapt to her feet, and the dream turned into a nightmare.

The ground seemed move as thousands of spiders, both large and small, swarmed to the surface and surrounded Greta. The woman tried to run and tripped, sprawling on the ground clumsily. As she stood the spiders crawled up her legs and onto her back and chest. The air filled with her shrill screams, and Elva heard her beg for her husband to come rescue her.

All the while the spiders continued to swarm her. Greta was practically buried by now and her cries for help became muffled and more frantic. She scratched and swatted at the spiders desperately, to no avail. And then- the dream ended and Elva was thrust out of her caretaker's mind violently. The force of her reentering her own body threw her onto the ground. Fighting off the nausea that always accompanied the death of someone that you were sharing your mind with, Elva stood and walked over to her dead caretaker nervously. She felt for Greta's pulse with the utmost care. There was none.

She left Greta sitting on the chair. Opening the tent flap slightly, Elva gazed out into the darkening night and debated on what to do next. Foolish as he was, it wouldn't take Eragon much longer to realize that she had been the one to kill Solembum. It wouldn't be wise for her to be found with Greta's body. Her eyes scanned over the area quickly, and she was satisfied with her chances of not being spotted if she left now.

It would be stupid to waste this opportunity to escape. She grabbed a knife from the kitchen and calmly walked outside.

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><p>"It had to be her, there's no bloody trace of any other living thing capable of this monstrosity!" Orrin snapped, glaring at Eragon venomously. The younger man glared back.<p>

"And what makes you think _Elva_ is capable of this? She's only a little girl!"

"Yes," the King replied sarcastically. "And she also has the mind of a warped adult and the ability to use people's fears against them. How can you possibly think she _didn't_ do this? Anyway, _you_ were the one who said that Elva was the only person in the area with Solembum, why are you turning against your own discovery? " Eragon gritted his teeth and didn't answer. The truth was, he didn't want it to be Elva who committed this heinous crime. If she did kill the were-cat, it would be his fault, he had been the one to give her these accursed abilities.

The leaves on the ground crunched as Arya walked back to them with a grim look on her face. "You were right," she told Eragon. "It had to be Elva."

"Why?" Eragon whispered. He felt stupid asking the question; he knew why Elva would do this, and so did everyone else.

"We have to get to Greta," Nasuada interjected. She had been staring into space during the conversation. She looked tired, and Eragon could tell she felt as guilty for Elva's sudden act as he did. "She could still be there, and she might be planning on killing more people." She turned toward the soldiers that had been helping them search and shouted, "Get back to the camp, make sure she hasn't hurt any one else." The men nodded and did as they were ordered.

Eragon watched them do before turning to follow Nasuada and the others to Greta's tent. He knew somehow that they'd be to late to save Greta from the fate she and Solembum had shared.

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><p>He had been right. The others stood silently as Angela tried to diagnose the old woman's death. There were no markings on her skin, no sign of any physical attack. Angela stopped muttering her incantation and stood. "She died of a heart attack. Elva must have scared her to death." No one spoke. Eragon finally said, "Saphira and I will search for Elva from the air the air; the rest of you should break off into to groups and search on the ground." Amazingly, none of them argued. Orrin left with Angela, and Nasuada left with a group of Nighthawks. Arya, despite his pleading her to do otherwise, left alone.<p>

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><p>He jumped onto Saphira's back, and she took off without him asking. "<em>We will find her little one.<em>" Her voice exuded confidence. He prayed that she was right.

Elva hit the man on the head once more and he fell. Blood dripped down his face and onto his Varden uniform, dyeing the brown cloth red. She didn't need to fill his pulse to see that he was dead. She dropped the branch she had used to kill him and started giggling to herself. He had been _so_ scared when she attacked him, but it served him right. He should have known better then try to ruin her plans.

She stifled her giggling and listened. The sound of frantic voices reached her ears, and she realized the must of found Greta's body. They were looking for her.

'_Good_,' she thought with another giggle. Now the real fun could begin.

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><p><strong>Please review! I need advice in order to improve!<strong>


	4. Chapter 4

**I've finally updated! I'm kinda proud of myself actually, I don't usually stick with a story this long...**

**Anyway, enjoy! **

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><p>Two hours later and there was still no sign of her. By now Orrin was frustrated enough to split his segment of the search party into separate parts: two that headed east and west, and a smaller company lead by him and Angela. The soldiers weren't especially happy about one of their leaders being a woman, and a crazy one at that. They knew better then to speak put against their King's judgment though, no matter how small the decision. He was so anxious about the witch-child who was escaping that he would most likely snap should someone suggest that his decision making was slightly impaired.<p>

Besides, they needed the crazy woman, whether they would admit it or not. If anyone could talk some sense into the witch-child and trick her into giving herself up, this woman could. And if she could do that, they'd be perfectly happy to put up with Angela for a few hours longer. All they wanted was to go home to their families and have this nightmare over with.

"Sire!" One of the soldier's voices cracked as he summoned his king. Orrin walked over to him with a worried look on his face, his hand clenched into a fist around the handle of his sword. "Franz, what-" The king ended his sentence with a low groan. The rest of the regiment crowded around him to see what the problem was. Angela didn't swarm with the rest of them. She already knew what she'd find.

The sound of Orrin giving his men orders was drowned out by a soft sobbing noise. Angela found herself following the sound despite her better judgment. She knew who was crying, and if Angela could find her she could stop this from getting any worse.

She found Elva doubled over, crying soundlessly. Her guard dropped as she watched the little girl cry. Angela knelt down beside her like she had down earlier that night. The witch-child looked up and wiped her tears away. "Angela, I'm so glad you're here," she sobbed. She sounded sincerely glad to see her. Angela found herself doubting her decision to come here alone. '_Stupid Angela, very stupid._'

"They're saying I killed Greta and Solembum," Elva continued wiping away some more tears. She reached into her cloak pocket and grabbed the knife she had taken from Greta's tent. She turned to Angela, who froze at the sight of her hate filled face. Her eyes landed on the blade of the knife and she winced.

"They're going to say that I killed you too," she whispered in a conspiratorial voice.

'_Run you idiot!_' Angela screamed in her mind. '_She's only_ _a little girl, you can outrun her easily._' But she couldn't move, Elva's violet eyes pinned her in place. She struggled to scream as the knife entered her chest and shattered her heart.

After wards Elva just stared at the body. How was she going to move this thing? True, they weren't that far away from where her next victim's life would end, but Angela wasn't what you'd call petite. And Elva , having the body of a little girl, couldn't carry her, and she didn't have the strength to use magic. She heard a few branches snap and rushed to grab Angela's body by the collar of her shirt and drag her toward the cliff she had selected. If the witch's body wasn't there it would ruin everything.

"Every one spread out! She's around here somewhere, and if any of you let that brat escape I'll gut and hamstring you!" The death threat did its intended job. His men resumed their search for the witch-child with renewed vigor. "Angela," King Orrin continued as he watched the soldiers run off. "I need you to- Angela?" He turned around to face her only to find himself looking into thin air.

The King swore under his breath. Great. Just bloody freaking brilliant. What the hell had she been thinking? What kind of idiot went off into the woods by themselves when there was a demonic child on the loose? He drew his sword and searched for any sign as to where she had gone. He spotted her tracks and followed them, more irritated then he should have been. He didn't know why he even bothered, she was a grown woman, she should have known better than to wander off.

He had not followed her for even half an hour when the tracks disappeared. Orrin swore to himself once more and shouted her name. "Angela!" There was no answer.

"Damn it Angela answer me!" Fear had started to worm its way into his mind. He shivered, but not from the cold. It was the sudden realization that he was alone that caused him to shake. Complete and utter silence followed his angry shouting, but then-

"Orrin?" Angela's voice cut through the silence. Her voice was soft, barely loud enough to be heard. It trembled slightly, something that it almost never did.

"Don't move Angela, I'll be right there." He commanded before setting off in the direction her voice had come from. He sighed in relief, glad he was no longer alone. He walked until he came to a small clearing. Fog had started to settle on the ground, making everything hazy and hard to see. He could see just well enough to see a body lying in the ground. He moved closer warily, fearing the worst.

Angela's face stared back up at him, her eyes frozen in terror. Blood stained her dress and the ground around her. Her face was twisted with a violent expression that sent shivers down Orrin's spine. The sound of falling rocks tore his gaze away from Angela's dead body.

He moved past the witch's body and squinted to see past the fog that surrounded them. He looked down and groaned as the world around him spun violently. The bottom of a cliff stared back at him from a hundred feet below. Orrin closed his eyes and tried to push the image out of his head as the nausea hit. He was afraid of heights, he always had been.

Trying not to think of the cliff's edge that lay only a few feet away, Orrin turned to pick up Angela's body. He had almost succeeded when he spotted something out the corner of his eye. He looked up and snarled at the innocent face that was watching him silently. Elva laughed as he pointed his sword at her. She didn't seem to notice the murder in his eyes.

"Orrin, I'm so glad you're here, I was afraid you wouldn't come," the girls voice sounded too cheerful and sweet. He shuddered as it grated against his ears. "I wasn't sure you'd follow Angela out here, but I guess you never were that cautious." She walked forward and Orrin unceremoniously let Angela's body drop to the ground. He placed his other hand on the hilt of his sword, trying to stop it from shaking. It didn't help.

Elva walked forward despite the sword that was pointed at her. "Actually", she continued, "I'm surprised you didn't run when you saw the cliff. You've always been afraid of heights, haven't you?" Orrin merely glared at her.

"_Haven't you?_" Elva screeched angrily, enraged by his lack of response. The king found himself nodding and taking a step back as the witch-child came closer. Her face relaxed and she continued talking in that too sweet voice.

"Wouldn't it be awful," she said happily, "if you just fell off the cliff right now, with nobody to save you, nobody to find your body after I dispose of it?"

He continued walking backwards as she came closer to him. He was close enough to the cliff's edge to cause rocks to fall towards the treacherous ground below. He shuddered as they bounced of the cliff side and crashed at the bottom.

Elva was only a few inches away from him by now. By the time he broke through the terror to strike at her it was too late. She shoved him in the chest just hard enough to cause him to hurtle over the edge of the cliff. She listened to him scream as he fell through the air. The scream lasted for a good minute and a half before cutting off suddenly.

Satisfied with her work here, Elva went to find her next victim, Nasuada.

She swore to herself angrily as she listened to Nasuada talking to two of her guards. She could dispose of all three of them, there was no doubt about _that_, but the energy it would have taken to get rid of the guards would have left her defenseless against her other enemies. Elva grumbled angrily and left her hiding as Nasuada and her guards walked away. This defiantly ruined her plans, but she would have to deal with it. On the bright side, her next target would cause Eragon the greatest pain yet.

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><p><strong>Please review!<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm Baack! =D I 'm sorry I couldn't update sooner. Writer's block sucks, that's all I have to say. And just as a warning, this chapter is very dark. **

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><p>Eragon cursed under his breath. Elva had managed to completely disappear; even in the air he couldn't find any trace of her. "<em>Perhaps if you were to concentrate on the task at hand and not worry about Arya, we'd be able to find her!<em>" Saphira snapped through their joined minds.

"_Shut up Saphira_," he said half-heartedly as his eyes scanned the ground. He couldn't really argue with her, she had been telling the truth after all. His mind had been preoccupied with images Arya for the greater part of the search. Visions of Arya dead, lost, maimed, scared and injured formed a parade in front of his eyes. Why did she have to go off be herself?

Sensing her rider's unease, Saphira tried a gentler approach. "_She'll be fine; you aren't doing Arya any good by worrying about her._" Eragon ignored her and continued watching the forest fly past them. Suddenly he spotted a dark shape below him. His heart sped up with relief and he shouted, "_Saphira land!_" Saphira slowed her flight and did as he commanded. As she neared the ground Eragon jumped off her back, landing gracefully on his feet. His eyes scanned the dark fringe of trees for a moment and then he ran forward.

A few minutes later Saphira heard a slight thump and a groan. She struggled to get past the trees, and was forced to send some of them crashing to the forest floor. When she had finally arrived at the scene Eragon was getting to his feet. Arya was sitting on the ground, glaring up at him. He offered her his hand, which she waved away before jumping to her feet.

"Have you lost your mind?" she snapped. Eragon opened his mouth to reply, but Arya wouldn't let him. "I could have killed you!"

"I'm sorry," Eragon said, his voice dry and humorless, "I tend to be glad when I realize my friends haven't been killed by a psychotic six year old. Especially when they're stupid enough to go off by themselves." Arya's eyes narrowed dangerously, and Saphira decided to stop them before they could argue any further.

"_Stop it both of you; you're acting like, children._" Both Eragon and Aryalooked at her in surprise, as if they hadn't realized she was there.

"_Arguing won't solve anything, and it certainly won't help us find Elva._" She turned her head so that she was looking her rider in the eye. "_Eragon, stay with Arya and search for the witch-child on the ground. I will continue searching from the air; we'll be more likely to stop Elva if we split up._" Eragon seemed rather worried with this plan.

"_Saphira, what is Elva comes after you?_" Saphira gave an amused look and winked at him. "_Eragon, I am a dragon; Elva would never dare attack me._" As if to prove her point, Saphira barred her knife like teeth and snapped her wings open. With her wings unfurled she seemed to nearly double in size, and Eragon had to admit only a mad person would dare try to attack her. That didn't mean he had to be happy about it.

Ignoring Eragon's further complaints, Saphira turned to Arya with a growl. "_Take care of him elf, or you shall have me to answer to._" Arya replied by bowing at the waist and muttering a promise in the ancient languageto protect Eragon with her life. It was only after this that Saphira bolted into the air and continued with her hunt.

Eragon and Arya watched her fly until she was out of sight and didn't talk for a few moments. Then, when the silence seemed it would last forever, the elfin princess spun on her heel, saying as she went, "Stay close to me, and take no unnecessary risks. It's probably safe to assume that you are Elva's main target and that she won't attack unless she thinks you're alone. If that's the case-"

"Don't you think there's a possibility of Elva coming after you?" The words came out harsher then he had intended, but he was so tired of everything that went wrong being about _him_. But even as he said it he had to accept the truth of her words. _He _had been the one to curse Elva, and he was the one she blamed for her suffering.

Arya didn't respond. She didn't have to.

They were together, and Arya wanted to protect him. Elva felt her lips curl with disgust. How sweet. What a heart wrenching, sickening scene. Suddenly Elva felt the urge to barf; the loving feelings coming from both of them were almost too much to handle. Disgust and nausea aside, Elva realized this opened up several possibilities. It would be difficult, but she could make this work.

It would be awful for Eragon to watch the woman he loved die. And Arya would be distraught knowing that she had failed to protect Eragon. She had to put her hand over her mouth to keep from giggling. Oh, this was going to be _so _much better than her original plan. It didn't even matter that she hadn't gotten to kill Nasuada yet.

But which one would be the first to go? That was the question. Elva rested her cheek in her hand as she ran over the possibilities in her mind.

'_If I kill Arya first Eragon will go insane. He _might_ actually put up a fight. That would be a grand experience; I don't believe anyone has tried to honestly fight back all night._' A small smile graced her lips at the possibility.

'_On the other hand, Arya could be so distraught about losing her would-be lover that she would cry. That'd be nice. I'd like to see that Elfin bitch cry for once._' Elva weighed the out comes and found that she didn't prefer either of them over the other. Ah well, none of this night had gone exactly as she had planned; why not go out go out on a whim and kill which ever one she felt like at the moment? Elva found that she rather liked the idea and followed the pair. She smiled with pride at what she had accomplished this night. Soon no one would dare insult her or call her by anything but her real name. No more people calling her witch-child, no more people telling her what to do, and no one to get in her way.

Elva was so excited by these thoughts that she overlooked a flaw in her plan. It was only small flaw, but it was also very important, and it was stupid of Elva to forget it.

She had forgotten about Saphira.

"Arya, stop." She ignored Eragon and kept walking. She could almost her him grind his teeth together in frustration. "Arya, stop, we need to talk." She continued to walk ahead of him, but she slowed down a little. She already knew what Eragon wanted to talk about, and she didn't want to have that conversation again.

"Damn it Arya, will you wait for just one moment? This is important!" Arya stopped so suddenly that Eragon almost crashed into her. He struggled to keep his balance as she turned to face him. Once he had steadied himself, he took a deep breath and looked Arya in the eye.

"Arya I just wanted you to know that I-"

"No." Her voice was stern, and it left no room for argument. She hoped that it helped hide of nervous she was. "We aren't having this conversation again. It's pointless and we have a job to do."

"-love you, and that I always will." He continued as if her hadn't heard her, although a slight frown covered his face. Arya couldn't tell if his displeasure came from her refusal to listen to him, or if it was the result of her apparent lack of feeling toward him.

Silence enveloped them as Eragon waited for her answer. Part of her wanted to reject him as she had done before. It would be so easy to crush his spirit once again. Arya had no desire to cause Eragon pain, but what other way was there to move on from this nonsense?

But she couldn't bring herself to do it. If she were to be honest, she didn't know what her feelings were for Eragon anymore. She couldn't bring herself to say that she loved him- that would have been going to far. Nor could she say that she didn't think of him in a way that others could regard as romantic.

"We have to find Elva." Arya winced inwardly at her refusal to answer the question. Eragon studied her face silently before turning away.

"You're right, I shouldn't have wasted our time." He slid past her with a dull expression on his face. "I'll take the lead."

Arya watched him walk away for a few moments before following. As she walked, her stomach squirmed with a sense of guilt that she didn't understand.

They continued walking until they came upon a cloaked figure standing on their path. Elva walked forward to meet them. A violent grin painted her face, and her usually calm violet eyes were so blood shot that Eragon could almost imagine that they were glowing.

He opened his mouth to stop her- any spell would have served- but the crazed look in her eyes held him silent. Fear clogged his throat and made his heart pound in of his chest. What was wrong with him? As wary as he had been of Elva before, he had never reacted like this-

'_She's just amplifying your fear,_' a voice whispered in the back of his mind, barely audible over the terror bombarding him. '_This isn't real, what you're feeling isn't real_-' Elva sent another wave of fear over him, and the voice disappeared. Arya stood motionless beside him.

Elva walked toward them until she was only a short distance away from them. Her eyes flickered between Eragon and Arya ceaselessly, studying them like insects under a microscope. Then after a few moments of silence she looked back at Eragon with a smirk.

"You're pathetic," she said in a soft voice. "You two actually think you can stop me." She laughed loudly; the sound sent shivers down his spine.

"As if you could do anything; you're too soft hearted. Your little proposal is proof of that." Somewhere, deep beneath the fear, Eragon felt some degree of embarrassment. If he hadn't been so terrified he would have blushed.

Elva turned back to Arya.

"You could have at least said you loved him back," her mocking tone made Eragon want to slap her. "You're about to _die_ after all; a little kindness isn't uncalled for." Then Elva grabbed Arya by the arm and pulled her down so that they looked each other in the eyes.

"And as a result of your cruelty, I'm going to kill him." The hint of madness that had just barely colored her voice moments ago burst forth. "And I'm going to make you watch. Do you understand?" Arya could only nod. Her body trembled, and the sight caused Elva to laugh again. "Good." Then she turned toward Eragon with a wide smile. Then she kicked him in the shin.

Eragon fell like a ton of bricks. And even as he lay there on the ground Elva wouldn't stop kicking him. He should have moved, should have called for help or gotten up and fought back, but her couldn't. The aura of terror that surrounded Elva held him in place. He was completely and utterly helpless.

As she kicked him, Elva talked. "This is for all the pain I've suffered at your hands, Eragon. I want to cause you as much pain as you've caused me. I want to see you suffer like I do." Now the pain and fear was accompanied by visions. Everything that had kept Eragon up at night came flooding into his head. He watched as Roran was killed by an Empire soldier. He saw Saphira fighting a large black dragon that tore at her throat and ripped apart her wings. Then the visions stopped. It took a few seconds for him to register that Elva was no longer kicking him.

"You're pathetic." her voice was filled with a disgusting level of glee. "This is who Saphira chose to be her rider; a man who is easily defeated by a little girl? You're nothing without-"

A roar filled the air and shook the ground bellow them. The sound startled Elva so much that her power over Eragon lessened. He was able to scramble to his feet and away from her. A shadow surrounded them and grew larger as Saphira approached them. Elva managed to grasp what was happening and turned to run.

She wasn't quick enough.

Eragon didn't see the whole thing clearly, but by the time he came to his senses Saphira had pinned Elva's body to the ground. He saw Arya on the forest floor beside him. She was shivering violently, and stared blankly in front of her. He touched her arm gently, not wanting to startle her. When she looked up at him it was if she didn't recognize her friend at all, but she let him help her into a standing position, and together they walked toward Saphira.

Saphira barely acknowledged their presence, preferring to glare at the girl trapped underneath her paw. Eragon was amazed to see that Elva was still breathing.

Soon afterwards they were found by a group of Nighthawks, who accompanied them back to camp. They were greeted by Nasuada, who ordered Arya to see a healer. After Arya walked away Nasuada turned to Eragon. Her face was pale and drawn; she looked almost as tired as he felt.

"What happened? How did you catch her?" Her voice oozed curiosity. Eragon shook his head.

"I didn't catch her. We were tracking her in the woods, and when we found her Saphira had already captured her." His pride refused to let him elaborate any further on what had happened. Nasuada nodded and looked toward the Nighthawks that were carrying Elva toward the prisoners tent.

"What will we do with her?" She wasn't asking anyone in particular, but she was relieved to hear that Eragon's answer was the same has hers.

"I don't know." He watched as Elva was carried away, marveling at the innocent expression on her face. It was the exact opposite as her face had been in the forest. The memory made him shudder. Elva was a sick, twisted little girl…

* * *

><p><strong>Hmm... I'll have to admit this isn't my best chapter ever- it's way to over dramatic and over the top. And I sincerly apologize for the love scene between Eragon and Arya. It just gets boring writing " And Elva killed this guy. And then this guy died." But it doesn't matter what I think, it just matters wether you guys liked it or not. So... please reveiw. <strong>


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